Action Against Dissidents

March 1, 1986

SANTIAGO, CHILE — Five leading dissidents have been charged with making anti-government pronouncements. They could get prison sentences ranging from 5 to 15 years. Opposition groups interpreted the legal actions as the military government's way of discouraging street demonstrations planned during March. ''These are not isolated cases,'' said a joint statement by youth leaders of 11 opposition parties. ''They show clearly that repression is the government's chosen arm in its desperate attempt to paralyze social unrest.''